April 2
Events * 68 - Galba, governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Roman emperors begun with Julius Caesar and Augustus. *1453 - Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (İstanbul), which would fall on May 29. *1513 - Juan Ponce de Leon sets foot on Florida becoming the first known European to do so. *1755 - Commodore William James captures pirate fortress of Suvarnadurg on west coast of India. *1792 - The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint. *1801 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen - The British destroy the Danish fleet. *1804 - Forty merchantmen are wrecked when a convoy led by [[Wikipedia:HMS Apollo (1799)|HMS Apollo]] runs aground off Portugal. *1810 - Napoleon Bonaparte marries Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria. *1863 - Richmond Bread Riot: Food shortages incite hundreds of angry women to riot in Richmond and demand the Confederate government to release emergency supplies. *1865 - American Civil War: Siege of Petersburg broken - Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, forcing Confederate General Robert E. Lee to retreat. * 1865 - American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet flee the Confederate capital of Richmond. *1900 - The Foraker Act passes through Congress, giving Puerto Ricans limited self-rule. *1902 - Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, is assassinated by a terrorist in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg. * 1902 - "Electric Theatre", the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opens in Los Angeles. *1917 - World War I: The Battle of Vimy Ridge commences when the Canada Corps launches an artillery bombardment of the German trenches. To that time, the biggest artillery bombardment in history. *1917 - World War I: U.S. President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany. * 1917 - The first woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress, Jeannette Rankin, takes her seat as a representative from Montana. *1930 - Haile Selassie is proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia. *1962 - The first official Panda crossing is opened outside Waterloo station, London. *1972 - Actor Charlie Chaplin returns to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist in the early 1950s during the Red Scare. * 1972 - Vietnam War: Easter Offensive begins - North Vietnamese soldiers of the 304th Division take the northern half of Quang Tri Province. *1973 - Launch of LexisNexis computerized legal research service. *1975 - Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees flee from the Quang Ngai Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops. * 1975 - CN Tower completed in Toronto Ontario Canada: reaches 553.33 metres in height, becoming the world's tallest free-standing structure. *1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act in an effort to help the U.S. economy rebound. *1982 - Falklands War: 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands by Argentina. See also 1833 invasion of the Falkland Islands by United Kingdom *1984 - Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma is launched aboard Soyuz T-11, and becomes the first Indian in space. *1989 - Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrives in Havana, Cuba to meet with Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations. *1991 - First female Premier of a Canadian province takes office. Rita Johnston succeeds William Vander Zalm, who resigned, as Premier of British Columbia. *1992 - In New York, Mafia boss John Gotti is convicted of murder and racketeering and is later sentenced to life in prison. *2002 - Israeli forces surrounded the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians retreated. A siege ensues. *2004 - Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks attempt a thwarted bombing of the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid. *2005 - James Stewart Jr. becomes first African American to win a major motorsports event. *2006 - Over 60 tornadoes breakout, hardest hit is Tennessee with 29 people killed. Births * 742 - Charlemagne (d. 814) *1348 - Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1385) *1527 - Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and geographer (d. 1598) *1565 - Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (d. 1599) *1618 - Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1663) *1653 - Prince George of Denmark, prince consort of Anne of England (d. 1708) *1719 - Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet (d. 1803) *1725 - Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and writer (d. 1798) *1781 - Bhagwan Swaminarayan, religious leader (d. 1830) *1788 - Francisco Balagtas, Filipino poet (d. 1862) *1798 - August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (d. 1874) *1805 - Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (d. 1875) *1814 - Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (d. 1879) *1827 - William Holman Hunt, English painter (d. 1910) *1838 - Léon Gambetta, French statesman (d. 1882) *1840 - Émile Zola, French novelist and critic (d. 1902) *1862 - Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1947) *1867 - Eugen Sandow, German bodybuilder and circus performer (d. 1925) *1869 - Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (d. 1928) *1875 - Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer (d. 1940) *1884 - Sir John Squire, British poet, writer, and historian (d. 1958)) *1891 - Max Ernst, German painter (d. 1976) *1900 - Roberto Arlt, Argentine writer (d. 1942) *1902 - Jan Tschichold, German typographer (d. 1974) *1903 - Lionel Chevrier, Canadian politician (d. 1987) *1907 - Luke Appling, American baseball player (d. 1991) *1908 - Buddy Ebsen, American actor and dancer (d. 2003) *1910 - Paul Triquet, Canadian military officer (d. 1980) *1912 - Herbert Mills, American singer (The Mills Brothers) (d. 1989) *1914 - Sir Alec Guinness, English actor (d. 2000) *1917 - Lou Monte, American singer (d. 1989) *1920 - Jack Webb, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1982) *1923 - G. Spencer-Brown, English mathematician * 1923 - Clifford Scott Green, American Federal Judge *1926 - George MacDonald Fraser, English author * 1926 - Sir Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver *1927 - Carmen Basilio, American boxer * 1927 - Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer (d. 2006) * 1927 - Kenneth Tynan, English critic and writer (d. 1980) *1928 - Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, American cardinal (d. 1996) * 1928 - Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (d. 1991) *1934 - Paul Joseph Cohen, American mathematician (d. 2007) * 1934 - Brian Glover, British actor and wrestler (d. 1997) *1937 - Dick Radatz, American baseball player (d. 2005) *1938 - John Larsson, 17th General of The Salvation Army * 1938 - Whirlaway, American thoroughbred racehorse, 1941 Triple Crown Winner (d. 1953) *1938 - Booker Little, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1961) *1939 - Marvin Gaye, American singer (d. 1984) * 1939 - Lise Thibault, Lieutenant-governor of Quebec *1940 - Penelope Keith, English actress *1941 - Dr. Demento, American radio personality *1942 - Leon Russell, American blues-rock pianist/guitarist session musician * 1942 - Hiroyuki Sakai, Japanese chef *1945 - Linda Hunt, American actress * 1945 - Reggie Smith, American baseball player * 1945 - Don Sutton, American baseball player * 1945 - Anne Waldman, American poet *1946 - Kurt Winter, Canadian guitarist (The Guess Who) (d. 1997) *1947 - Emmylou Harris, American singer * 1947 - Camille Paglia, American feminist writer *1949 - Paul Gambaccini, British television presenter * 1949 - Pamela Reed, American actress * 1949 - Ron Palillo, American actor *1951 - Ayako Okamoto, Japanese golfer * 1951 - Moriteru Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist *1952 - Pat Drummond, Australian singer-songwriter * 1952 - Thierry Le Luron, French humorist (d. 1986) * 1952 - Leon Wilkeson, American rock bassist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 2001) *1953 - Jim Allister, Northern Irish politician * 1953 - David Robinson, American musician * 1953 - Debralee Scott, American actress (d. 2005) *1954 - Allan Davis, Australian diplomat * 1954 - Susumu Hirasawa, Japanese electropop musician *1955 - Dana Carvey, American actor, SNL * 1955 - Michael Stone, British terrorist *1959 - Juha Kankkunen, Finnish race car driver * 1959 - Badou Zaki, Morrocan footballer and manager *1960 - Linford Christie, English athlete * 1960 - Brad Jones, Australian racing driver *1961 - Christopher Meloni, American actor * 1961 - Keren Woodward, English singer (Bananarama) *1962 - Pierre Carles, French documentarist * 1962 - Clark Gregg, American actor * 1962 - Mark Shulman, American children's author *1963 - Mike Gascoyne, British engineer *1964 - Pete Incaviglia, American baseball player *1965 - Rodney King, American victim of police brutality *1966 - Bill Romanowski, American football player * 1966 - Teddy Sheringham, English footballer * 1966 - Garnet Silk, Jamaican singer (d. 1994) *1967 - Greg Camp, American musician (Smash Mouth) * 1967 - Helen Chamberlain, British television presenter *1971 - Todd Woodbridge, Australian tennis player * 1971 - ZEEBRA, Japanese hip hop artist *1972 - Chico Slimani, Moroccoan-British singer *1973 - Roselyn Sanchez, Puerto Rican actress *1974 - Håkan Hellström, Swedish musician *1975 - Adam Rodriguez, American actor *1977 - Michael Fassbender, Actor *1977 - Jelena Abbou, Serbian fitness model *1976 - Andreas Anastasopoulos, Greek shot putter *1978 - John Gall, American baseball player *1980 - Carlos Salcido, Mexican footballer * 1980 - Adam Fleming, English news reporter * 1980 - Ricky Hendrick, NASCAR driver and owner *1981 - Michael Clarke, Australian cricketer * 1981 - Bethany Joy Lenz-Galeotti, American actress *1982 - Jeremy Bloom, American skier and football player * 1982 - Bianca Chatfield, Australian netballer * 1982 - Jack Evans, American professional wrestler * 1982 - Leyla Milani, Canadian actress and model *1983 - Felix Borja, Ecuadorian footballer * 1983 - Yung Joc, American rapper * 1983 - Paul Capdeville, Chilean tennis player *1984 - Meryl Cassie, New Zealand actress Deaths *1118 - Baldwin I of Jerusalem, King of Jerusalem *1272 - Richard, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1209) *1335 - Duke Henry of Carinthia *1412 - Ruy Gonzáles de Clavijo, Spanish traveler and writer *1502 - Prince Arthur Tudor, son of Henry VII of England (b. 1486) *1507 - Francis of Paola, Italian founder of the Order of the Minims (b. 1416) *1657 - Ferdinand III (b. 1608) * 1657 - Jean-Jacques Olier - French catholic priest, founder of the Society of Saint-Sulpice (b. 1608) *1720 - Joseph Dudley, colonial Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1647) *1742 - James Douglas, Scottish physician and anatomist (b. 1675) *1747 - Johann Jacob Dillenius, German botanist (b. 1684) *1754 - Thomas Carte, English historian (b. 1686) *1787 - Thomas Gage, British general (b. 1719) *1791 - Mirabeau, French statesman (b. 1749) *1801 - Thomas Dadford Junior, British canal engineer *1803 - Sir James Montgomery, Scottish politician and judge (b. 1721) *1817 - Johann Heinrich Jung, German author (b. 1740) *1827 - Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus, German physician and naturalist (b. 1776) *1845 - Philip Charles Durham, Royal Navy Admiral (b. 1763) *1865 - General A. P. Hill, American Confederate general (b. 1825) *1872 - Samuel F. B. Morse, American painter and inventor of the telegraph (b. 1791) *1902 - Esther Morris, suffragist and first female American judge (b. 1814) *1914 - Paul von Heyse, German writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1830) *1922 - Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist (b. 1884) *1928 - Theodore William Richards, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1868) *1930 - Empress Zauditu of Ethiopia (b. 1876) *1936 - Jean-Baptiste Eugène Estienne, French general (b. 1860) *1953 - Hugo Sperrle, German field marshal (b. 1885) *1966 - C. S. Forester, English author (b. 1899) *1972 - Franz Halder, German general (b. 1884) *1972 - Toshitsugu Takamatsu, Japanese Martial Arts Grandmaster (b. 1887) * 1972 - Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (b. 1924) *1974 - Georges Pompidou, President of France (b. 1911) *1987 - Buddy Rich, American drummer (b. 1917) *1992 - Tomisaburo Wakayama, Japanese actor (b. 1929) *1992 - Juan Gómez González, Spanish footballplayer (b. 1954) *1994 - Betty Furness, American actress (b. 1916) *1995 - Harvey Penick, American golf instructor (b. 1904) * 1995 - Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist (b. 1908) *1998 - Rob Pilatus, American model and entertainer (Milli Vanilli) (b. 1965) *2001 - Charles Daudelin, Canadian artist (b. 1920) * 2001 - Jennifer Syme, American actress (b. 1972) *2003 - Edwin Starr, American singer (b. 1942) *2004 - John Argyris, Greek aeronautical engineer (b. 1913) *2005 - Pope John Paul II (b. 1920) *2006 - Nina Schenk von Stauffenberg, German wife of freedom fighter Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (b. 1913) Holidays and observances * International Children's Book Day * Malvinas Day in Argentina * Sizdah be dar in Iran Liturgical feasts *Saint Franciscus of Paola (1507) *Blessed Arnold of Leuven *Saint Genoveva of Brabant (1760) External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- April 02